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Leigh Ann Caldwell, Julia Ioffe, Peter Hamby, Abby Livingston & John Heilemann
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Sunday through Thursday
Puck’s daily political newsletter from Washington—featuring Leigh Ann Caldwell, Julia Ioffe, Peter Hamby, Abby Livingston, and John Heilemann—on what’s really happening in this town, from the White House to the Pentagon to Capitol Hill, K Street, and the campaign trail.
THE LATEST ARTICLES
Leigh Ann Caldwell & Julia Ioffe
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June 22, 2025
Trump’s Iran Warpath & D.C. Aftershocks
The latest political intelligence and national security chatter surrounding the U.S. bombing of Iran, the president’s neocon turn, the mental gymnastics of the MAGA base, and the response in Washington, 24 hours later.
Leigh Ann Caldwell
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June 18, 2025
Trump’s BBB Black Book
The president is strategically withholding endorsements for senators who may need them to hold on to their seats. But would he risk losing the Republican majority—and face very real political consequences himself—for the sake of spite?
Leigh Ann Caldwell
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June 15, 2025
Trump’s A.I. Contradictions
On his first full day in office, Trump convened tech leaders to launch an A.I. initiative to boost adoption and compete with China. But his one legislative agenda—the massive spending bill now with the Senate—leaves the U.S. profoundly vulnerable to A.I.’s social and economic disruptions.
Leigh Ann Caldwell
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June 12, 2025
Warning Schatz
A wide-ranging conversation with Senator Brian Schatz about Trump deploying troops to Los Angeles, the dangerous rhetoric of “invasion,” the trouble with the Big Beautiful Bill, and how to un-DOGE America.
Leigh Ann Caldwell
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June 11, 2025
The Invisible Fetterman
The arc of the formerly progressive senator’s career has bent more and more toward the right, and away from his own party. Would he actually jump ship?
Leigh Ann Caldwell
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June 8, 2025
The Great Congressional Cutoff
The “most transparent administration in history” has choked off the information flow down Pennsylvania Avenue, doling out intel as a reward to allies while staying mostly mum about what’s happening at USAID, or even who’s running the C.D.C.
Leigh Ann Caldwell
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June 4, 2025
Hawley’s Comet
Four years after his January 6 fist pump made him a Senate pariah, Josh Hawley has reinvented himself as a populist champion for Medicaid—still a lonely position within the G.O.P., and one that’s fueling chatter about his undulled ambition to succeed Trump in 2028.
Leigh Ann Caldwell
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June 1, 2025
Reservoir DOGE
As Elon Musk exits the White House, Republicans are scratching their heads over what all the chaos really accomplished, and how DOGE’s slapdash attempts to trim the budget stack up next to the $4 trillion budget-buster they just jammed through the House. As Trump himself reportedly said, “Was it all bullshit?”
Leigh Ann Caldwell
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May 28, 2025
Trump’s Senate Antagonists (Ranked)
Failure is not an option for Republicans as the Big Beautiful Bill moves to the Senate. The question is what remains of the multitrillion-dollar, debt-exploding monstrosity when Rand Paul, Ron Johnson, Mike Lee, and the chamber’s other deficit hawks get done with it.
Leigh Ann Caldwell
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May 25, 2025
Great Expectations
Inside the sniping and second-guessing of Hakeem Jeffries as the Democratic leader still faces questions about his leadership and, of course, the omnipresent comparisons to Nancy Pelosi. Allies say he’s improving, but the complaints do exist. “He’s not a general,” said one senior Democratic aide, “and we’re in the fight for our lives.”
